


The Lonely Lady of the Freezing Cold

by Engines_of_ressistance



Series: Moomins at Hogwarts [1]
Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime 1990)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Gen, Here we go, Moomins (Mumintroll | Moomins), Moominvalley (Mumintroll | Moomins), moomin au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:06:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23795848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Engines_of_ressistance/pseuds/Engines_of_ressistance
Summary: It’s Christmas time at Hogwarts, but there’s been an ongoing storm and Moomintroll is starting to get cabin fever. Not to mention every night the storm gets extra loud, and he isn’t getting any sleep!
Relationships: Muminmamman | Moominmamma & Snusmumriken | Snufkin, Muminmamman | Moominmamma/Muminpappan | Moominpappa, Mumintrollet | Moomintroll & Snusmumriken | Snufkin, Mumintrollet | Moomintroll/Snorkfröken | The Snork Maiden
Series: Moomins at Hogwarts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1775854
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sadly I couldn’t add the art I’ve done for this story, so I’ve posted the version with art on tumblr, which you can read here: https://its-rael.tumblr.com/post/616244631366139904/the-lonely-lady-of-the-freezing-cold-part-i

Snow fell in bigger volumes than Moomintroll had ever seen in his life, and despite their large size the snow-clumps drifted leisurely down to settle on the ever growing white blanket that covered the grounds at Hogwarts. Moomintroll was unhappy, the snow had been coming down unceasingly for the past few days, and more often than not it came down far heavier as part of a storm. He desperately wanted to go outside, would too if it weren't so cold, but instead he was stuck at a window, watching and wishing.

“Oh do cheer up Moomintroll,” said his friend Little My, who was as her name suggests so small she could probably fit inside a large watermelon, “it’s Christmas Eve!”

“I suppose so,” said Moomintroll gloomily.

Little My crossed her arms, “I’ve made you the most wonderful gift, you know.”

“That's very nice of you,” said Moomintroll, still looking outside with longing, “I wish it would clear up.”

“The weather does what it wants, so there’s no point in moping if moping doesn’t help,” Little My pointed out, and then hopped off the windowsill where she was perched, “if you’re not going to do something then I will.”

Only a moment later it seemed (the moment was really about half an hour) someone tapped on his shoulder.

“Hello again Little My,” sighed Moomintroll, “I was thinking, maybe I could go outside, if only for a little bit. I’d just have to put on several layers.”

“Little My?” Said the voice of someone who was definitely not Little My. In fact, it was the voice of Moomintroll’s favorite person in the whole world (next to his parents), whose name was Snufkin.

“I came across Little My not long ago, she told me that she couldn’t deal with your miserable-guts any longer and that I’d better go and cheer you up,” Snufkin said.

“Of course she did,” sighed Moomintroll.

Snufkin sat on the windowsill where Little My had previously stood, “it is frustrating having to stay pent up in doors for so long,” he said, “but it’s for our own safety I guess. It may be quiet now but they say the next blizzard is going to be even more terrible than the last, so there’s no point in being upset if you can't change that.”

“That's what Little My said,” Moomintroll groaned, and he propped his head up with his arm.

“Well she’s right,” Snufkin shrugged, then he added, “I’ll leave if you want.”

“No, that's alright,” said Moomintroll.

The two friends mulled in gloomy yet companionable silence for a bit, but then Snufkin had an idea. He was so glad about the idea that he grabbed Moomintroll’s hand, pulled him from the window and twirled him in a circle.

“Why did you do that?” Asked Moomintroll.

“We’re in a castle!” He laughed, and for good measure twirled his friend in a circle again, “a magical castle! There must be so much of it that we haven’t seen, and full of secrets too! Remember that secret passage you found on accident earlier this year? I bet there's tonnes like that and we could be the first to discover them.”

“I suppose,” said Moomintroll, trying to sound dubious, but really he had cheered up a little.

“Come on then!” Snufkin said.

And so Moomintroll let himself be dragged along the corridor at a run, without any care of direction, and within a few minutes they were well and truly lost.

“Well my friend Moomintroll, we really should have kept a note of where we were headed,” said Snufkin, giving up after they had ended up in the same corridor thrice and lying down on a bench.

“You’re right,” agreed Moomintroll, sitting down at the end of the bench, “but I thought I’d know Hogwarts well enough to get us un-lost.”

Moomintroll did know Hogwarts very well, for he had lived close at hand all of his life, although he was better acquainted with the grounds than the castle because only this year had he resided inside it. Before now he had only visited in the summer holidays when there were no students, or on the occasion his mother needed an extra pair of hands for a job. 

All of a sudden out of nowhere, someone piped up.

“You two wouldn’t happen to be lost now would you?” They said in a very small voice.

“But of course!” Snufkin said, very much relieved, but when he looked around to find the owner of the voice there was no one there. He sat up, “my apologies, but where are you?”

A little dog hopped down the staircase. It wasn’t your average little dog, not because it wore a neat coat and a pointy hat, and not because it spoke either (although that was odd in itself). The little dog was Sorry-oo, and he was a ghost.

“I’m right here my good sir,” said Sorry-oo in his meek little voice.

Snufkin stood, and Moomintroll did the same.

“Say, how would we get to the great hall from here?” Asked Snufkin.

Sorry-oo nodded once and gave them a detailed set of directions that left the two friends in quite a muddle.

“Could you repeat that please?” Moomintroll requested.

“I think it might be better if you were to lead the way,” suggested Snufkin, “unless you have another place to be that is.”

“No Sir, it would be my pleasure! Follow on!” Sorry-oo said gaily, and they followed the little ghost through corridors and passageways and secret staircases until they found themselves right outside the great hall, just in time for dinner!

“Thank you very much,” said Moomintroll to Sorry-oo.

Snufkin nodded, “yes, if it weren’t for you then we wouldn’t have been able to find our way back!”

Sorry-oo just bowed, and trotted off through a near wall.

Being the school holidays, most of the students at Hogwarts were at home with their families. Therefore upon entrance the great hall was remarkably empty. It wasn’t bare though, Christmas decorations covered the walls and there were several glittering Christmas trees, each touched with magic so that their ornaments did spectacular things. Moomintroll and Snufkin took a seat with their friends Little My, Sniff and Snorkmaiden who were already eating.

“Where have you two been?” Asked Little My.

“We got lost,” said Moomintroll matter-of-factly.

Little My frowned, “well you missed the beginning of dinner.”

“If we hadn’t been saved by a ghost then we would have missed dinner entirely!” Snufkin said, and Sniff looked at him with wide eyes imploring him to tell them the story. Sadly for Sniff, something else was on Snufkin’s mind, “Snorkmaiden, where is The Snork?” He asked.

“He said he wasn’t hungry,” answered Snorkmaiden, and a little grumpily she added, “he said that there is no time to eat while he is so busy. Codswallop, I said to him, it’s Christmas Eve! But he paid no mind so I came by myself.”

Moomintroll tried to give her comfort, “you know The Snork, I think he enjoys being so busy all the time.”

“But one must eat,” said Little My on her fourth helping.

“One must eat,” agreed Sniff, who was on his second.

Little My grinned. She was thinking about the wonderful presents she had ready to give to her friends the next day and became excited.

“Why are you eating so fast Little My?” Moomintroll asked.

“The sooner I go to bed the sooner I will wake up tomorrow and it will be Christmas time,” she said simply.

Moomintroll’s forehead wrinkled, “if it’s anything like the last few nights you won't be able to fall asleep at all.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but then again I can sleep through anything,” Little My smirked.

“Lucky you,” grumbled Moomintroll, “the wind moans so loudly every night and rattles the windows, and sometimes there is thunder and lighting, or there's a big crash because a tree has fallen down.”

“I reckon it’s not just the wind moaning,” said Snufkin conspiratorially.

“Oh?” Pipped the others.

“I think that it's The Groke,” he said.

“The Groke?” Sniff exclaimed with a waver in his voice, “that sounds scary!”

“The Groke is a monster,” told Snufkin with a spooky air, “I have heard stories that she lives deep within the forbidden forest in a cave, and comes out to wander in the grounds for a few nights when the weather gets coldest in the middle of Winter. At this time there’s always a terrible storm, and she moans and laments, and they say everything she touches freezes.”

By now Sniff was trembling and spluttering, “that doesn’t s-sound very n-n-n-nice.”

“She must be extra upset this year to be out for so long,” said Snufkin.

“Do you think she’ll go away?” Asked Snorkmaiden, who slept well enough but all the same didn’t like falling asleep to the night sounds.

“I don’t know,” said Snufkin.

“Well I hope that she does,” huffed Moomintroll, “and if she doesn’t then I’m going to go to bed and see if I can get to sleep before she starts up again.” And he left for the Gryffindor common room.

“I’m going to bed as well,” announced Little My, and went off in the same direction, where after a bit she would change direction towards the Ravenclaw common room.

Snufkin, Sniff and Snorkmaiden left soon afterwards.

That night Moomintroll didn’t get to sleep in time, and even if he had The Groke would have woken him up anyway. She was extra loud that night, and Moomintroll lay under his five layers of blankets tossing and turning and getting more and more frustrated until he decided that tomorrow night he would go and confront the monster once and for all. Funnily enough after deciding to do so he slept peacefully for a few hours.

The next morning Moomintroll awoke yawning, and was very unhappy.

‘That blasted Groke!’ Thought he, and was even more determined to confront the monster that night. He got out of bed, stretched, got dressed, gathered a heap of presents and hurried on down to meet with his friends. The great hall was empty aside from Little My, who was already eating.

“You look tired,” she said in between mouthfuls, “merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas,” yawned Moomintroll in greeting, and sat down beside her feeling less grumpy. You can’t stay angry forever, especially not on such a happy occasion as this.

Sniff was the last one to arrive, and once they had finished their breakfasts they each took out their heaps of presents and laid them out on the bit of table in front of them (except for Snufkin of course, who didn’t have any money to buy presents and preferred it that way).

“I’ll go first,” Little My decided, for it was oh so difficult to wait any longer, and she jumped up on the table with excitement. She bounded over to Sniff first and gave him a pretty little bag that tinkled with what sounded like money, which is also what everyone else got him. Next she gave the Snork a book of muggle science, Snorkmaiden a mirror that Little My had enchanted to give compliments to whomever looks into it, Snufkin a wooden flute that she had carved herself (Moomintroll kicked himself then, why hadn’t he thought of that?) and lastly Moomintroll a jar with a pretty blue flame inside.

“The flame is everlasting and will never be put out,” said Little My proudly, “I conjured it.”

Moomintroll’s anger dissipated, “thank you very much Little My,” he said in awe. 

Little My smirked.

Next Sniff gave them all a little figure of themselves and Moomintroll joked that Little My was almost the same size as her miniature lookalike. Then Snorkmaiden gave them all a box of homemade chocolate that warmed the whole body with a single bite. Moomintroll gave his gifts next; the Snork was gifted a very fancy pen, the Snorkmaiden a rose that sang (she blushed and put it behind her ear), the ceremonial money for Sniff, a big ol’ hat for Snufkin which he pulled down over his eyes to everyone’s delight, and for Little My a professional looking poster of her playing quidditch in her house team. The Snork was next, but he told them not to open his presents yet, because he didn’t want to see anybody’s reaction.

“I’m sorry that I don't have anything to give anyone,” apologised Snufkin, “I could play my mouth-organ if you like.”

The table cheered as he produced his coveted harmonica and when he played everyone had a splendid time dancing, Little My doing so atop the table and humming and singing along loudly. Later Moomintroll opened his present from the Snork and found inside it a miniature lifelike dragon that moved and chirped and blew fire. He told the Snorkmaiden to give her brother his thanks.

Although the cheer of Christmas was in the air Moomintroll couldn’t help but notice that the snow storm worsened outside. By now everyone was quite tired from dancing (some of the other students and even some teachers had joined them and they all had a jolly good time), so they sat around talking amiably.

“I’m going to confront The Groke,” said Moomintroll to Snufkin.

“Really?” Snufkin asked in surprise.

Moomintroll nodded his head, “tonight.”

“That could be dangerous, it gets even colder in the night time and The Groke might try to freeze you if you aren’t already frozen by the time you find her,” warned Snufkin, “besides going out at night is against the rules.”

“Pooh to the rules, this is the only way anyone will get any sleep. If you look around you can see how everyone is so tired,” said Moomintroll crossly.

Snufkin wasn’t going to stop Moomintroll from going, he wouldn’t dream of it, but that didn’t stop him from feeling concerned. “Do you have a plan?” He asked.

“No, not really,” Moomintroll replied, “but I’ll wear plenty of layers of warm clothes and I’ll bring my wand and a lantern.”

“You aren’t worried?” Snufkin questioned further, “The Groke is pretty terrifying.”

Moomintroll looked thoughtful, “I suppose not. In fact, I feel in my belly that everything is going to go fine.”

“If you say so,” Snufkin said, although he secretly thought the feeling in Moomintroll’s stomach was more likely fluttering butterflies, and they changed conversation topic. 

That night, Moomintroll bundled up in warm clothes, around seven layers, and put on two pairs of gloves, his scarf, and his thick woolly hat. He stuffed his wand in his pocket and made to leave, but then he remembered that he ought to bring a lantern. As He searched the room for one, his eyes instead rested on the flickering blue flame Little My had given him, the everlasting one.

‘That’ll do fine,’ he thought to himself, and took it from where he had placed it on his bedside table. He snuck very quietly, as quietly as he possibly could (which was extraordinary so, for the paw of a Moomin is like the paw of a cat) out of the dormitory, through many a corridor, down many a staircase, through the secret passage he had found earlier that year by accident, and outside. The cold was bitter and the wind would have buffeted him about had it not been for the deep snow keeping his feet in place. Determined he trudged out, blue flame aloft, in search of The Groke.

It was frightfully dark even with a light source and Moomintroll found that if he didn’t focus very hard he would get lost. After what seemed like hours of searching, he stopped and looked behind him at the looming castle that only made itself known by little twinkles of light few and far between. In this moment he felt a chill creeping towards him like no chill he had ever felt before. The temperature grew cooler, if that's even possible, and Moomintroll sensed the presence of melancholy behind him. He twisted around in its direction so fast he almost fell over, and, holding up the blue flame, found himself facing a looming shadow with big eyes, a big mouth and an even bigger nose. Moomintroll admitted to himself that maybe he was a bit scared by now, not that he would ever tell anyone.

“Are you The Groke?” he called after regaining his voice.

The mass stopped moving, “hnnnnngh,” it said, and nodded.

He called again, “why do you keep coming here?”

The Groke looked past Moomintroll to the castle and sighed.

“Why?” He yelled.

Slowly, The Groke looked back at him and frowned. Looking into her eyes, if only for a second, Moomintroll felt the sadness that dwelt there, the longing and the loneliness that she brought with her wherever she went. He realised then why she wandered the grounds.

“It must be very lonely, being you,” he said.

The Groke nodded and sighed again.

“That's why you come here, to feel closer to others,” Moomintroll said, “I think I understand. But when you come and you make all of that noise in the night nobody gets any sleep.”

“Nnnnhgh,” said The Groke, and she hung her head.

“It mustn’t be nice to be cold all of the time either,” he went on.

She nodded, still staring morosely at the snow.

Moomintroll searched his mind for any way to solve The Grokes problems. He couldn’t solve the loneliness because anyone who is near her for too long would freeze to death, but the cold… he couldn’t just make a fire, that would go out. He went to put his hand on his chin like he’d seen his papa do when he was thinking hard but his hand was already occupied by the blue flame.

‘The blue flame!’ thought Moomintroll, ‘the flame that Little My said would never go out!’

It was the perfect solution. Little My wouldn’t be very happy about him giving it away but then he must do so for the greater good, and he didn’t need to tell Little My anything anyway.

“O Groke!” Moomintroll shouted, “how would you like this here flame as a Christmas present? Then will you go away?”

The Groke looked at it long, and then she smiled and said “hhnnn!” ecstatically.

Moomintroll held it up as high as he could, then she grasped the jar in her hands. She took it, but not before accidentally touching Moomintroll’s hand and freezing him solid!


	2. Chapter 2

Snufkin shivered. At this time of year there were never enough blankets, even if his dorm room was empty of people and he took the blankets from their beds (he would return them later of course). Snufkin shivered again as he heard the wind tear down a tree in its anger. Usually he loved storms, the way one loves to watch big waves out at sea and hear them crash, the unstoppable force of nature a sort of comfort. But not tonight, because his dearest friend Moomintroll was out there right in the middle of it far colder than he. It was possible that at the last second he decided not to go out after all, but that was highly unlikely. Once Moomintroll decides to do something you’d be damned to try and stop him, even if you were a storm and a terrible monster.

“No use in trying to sleep,” thought Snufkin, “I most certainly won’t be able to.”

So he got up, still bundled in the blankets, and started pacing. The stone floor was cold on his bare feet. Back and forth went Snufkin, occasionally he’d stop for a moment as if he’d reached some kind of decision only to shake his head and continue, back and forth. Suddenly he burst out of his cocoon, threw on a few warm layers of clothes atop his pyjamas, grabbed his wand and hurried off, trying to be as quiet as possible lest anyone hear him. Mind made up, he found the secret passage Moomintroll had shown him earlier that year and went outside. Footprints in the shelter of the doorway that led out and disappeared under snow told him Moomintroll must have been there earlier. He held up his wand and whispered lumos so that it glowed brilliantly and set off, trying his best to think about where Moomintroll would have gone. Even with magic, it was difficult to navigate in a snowstorm this thick, and any footprints that were made beyond shelter had long been buried. It took a while, but he finally saw the silhouette of Moomintroll, who was staying perfectly still like a deer caught in headlights.

Snufkin figured that perhaps Moomintroll thought he was a teacher, so he cried, “don’t worry, it’s me Snufkin!” and waved. No response came. He kept on struggling through the snow and as the light showed more and more he quickened his pace, because something was definitely off. Fearing the worst he knocked on Moomintroll’s arm, a cold hard surface instead of the expected soft one confirmed his fear. His friend was frozen solid, and by The Groke no doubt. Where was she now? Probably run off somewhere cackling about her misdeed. Snufkin felt angry for a moment and thought about going after the monster himself, but that anger quickly subsided as worry about his friend took its place.

“How am I going to get you some help?” Snufkin thought aloud. They were far from the castle, judging by how small the occasional flickers of light through a window had become. Besides it was all uphill, and that would prove difficult. Then the idea came to him that he could go to Moominhouse; that wasn’t too far off surely, and Snufkin knew the path well (he was one of the few who did, for it was protected under charms to give the family some privacy).

“Sorry Moomintroll,” Snufkin said, and pushed him so that he lay on his back in the snow. Snufkin then took off his scarf, tied it around Moomintroll’s foot and dragged him as fast as he could all the way to Moominhouse.

The secret path was narrow and winding, and quite scenic if one was going for a walk on a nice day. Unfortunately it was neither nice nor was it daytime, in fact the trees felt threateningly close and roots seemed as though they were trying to trip Snufkin up. Not to mention he had the extra task of dragging Moomintroll behind him. When a warm light spilled up ahead Snufkin quickened his pace, for he knew it must be the lantern-that-is-never-not-lit, which meant around the corner would be the clearing that hosted Moominhouse. During the day, or on a clear night when the moon and stars are out, you would see that the Moominhouse is nestled in a little valley, and although the valley shelters them from prying eyes they sometimes get very nasty winds. A little tinkling would have greeted Snufkin right about now had the stream not been frozen over, but that mattered not in the shadow of Moominhouse (which even so still managed to look welcoming), where he could just see the light of the fireplace flickering under the front door. Knowing that the Moomins rarely locked their door, Snufkin struggled up the front stairs and inside, left Moomintroll by the dying fire and sprinted upstairs.

“Moominmamma! Moominpappa!” Snufkin shouted as he burst into their room. He shook them both for good measure.

“What on earth is the matter?” Yawned Moominmamma.

Snufkin flicked on the lamp.

“Snufkin?” Moominpappa said with a sleepy slur.

“Yes,” confirmed Snufkin, “you both must come downstairs, I’m afraid something awful has happened.”

“Oh dear,” said Moominmamma, getting out of bed and putting on her apron, “are you quite alright Snufkin?”

Snufkin nodded, “I’m fine Moominmamma, will you please hurry.”

“Then what is the fuss?” Asked Moominpappa, who was a little miffed about being woken up at such an hour.

“It’s Moomintroll, he went out tonight to tell The Groke to go away because nobody could sleep with her storm going. When I found him he was frozen solid,” explained Snufkin.

“By my hat!” exclaimed Moominpappa, “do you think The Groke froze him?”

“It’s quite likely,” said Snufkin solemnly, and they all rushed down the stairs.

“Hum,” said Moominmamma as she examined her son, muttering an incantation here and there. Snufkin was standing to the side, watching worriedly. Moominpappa, however, hovered very close to his wife and got in the way. He was a brilliant historian, very knowledgeable, but his abilities beyond that were not spectacular. The healing and mending and cooking and washing was all in a day's work (which also included tending to the Hogwarts grounds) for Mamma.

“I’m afraid we have to just let him thaw out,” she said finally, “Moominpappa could you please fetch some more firewood?”

Moominpappa was glad for something to do, “of course, right away!”

“I’m going to get some blankets,” said Moominmamma, smiling at Snufkin, “I could use an extra pair of hands.”

“I’ll help,” said Snufkin, and followed her upstairs where they practically emptied the blanket cupboard.

“You’re staying for the rest of the night?” Moominmamma asked, although it wasn’t really a question.

Snufkin nodded.

“If you would like I can set up a bed in the spare room,” suggested Moominmamma.

“No thank you,” said Snufkin. He settled himself in front of the fireplace, next to Moomintroll.

“Someone has got to keep the fire going,” he said.

Moominmamma tucked a blanket snug around his shoulders, “that’s very good of you. Would you like something to drink? Tea? Hot Chocolate?”

There was a pause while Snufkin thought for a moment, then he asked, “do you have any coffee?”

“Yes, certainly!” Moominmamma chuckled, a very warm and cheerful sound that she had passed down to her son, and pottered off to the kitchen.

Moominpappa returned from the cellar with the firewood and subsequently declared that he was going back to bed. Both Moominmamma and Snufkin bade him goodnight, then set to the task of rekindling the fireplace. It was such a cold night that it was really quite difficult to get it started up again, even with magic. At last they succeeded, and as Snufkin settled back down Moominmamma disappeared then reappeared soon after with two mugs of steaming coffee.

“Be careful, it's hot,” she said, sitting with a soft fwump in an armchair.

“That’s perfectly fine,” thought Snufkin, because it was very nice to wrap his freezing little hands around. He blew across the surface of the liquid, barely being able to see it ripple in the dim light of the dancing fire.

Moominmamma sighed, “I’ll stay until he’s thawed enough to give him blankets, then I think I will go back to sleep.”

“Okay,” said Snufkin, blowing once more (a long while for good measure) on his coffee and taking a sip, “this is very good coffee.”

“Thank you,” beamed Moominmamma, “it's my own special brew.”

“It certainly is special,” Snufkin confirmed.

Maybe time decided it would go for a run, as it seemed to take no time at all for Moomintroll to be thawed enough for blankets. Moominmamma made sure to wrap her son snug in, if you recall, almost every blanket from the blanket cupboard, and he looked completely buried aside from two white ears poking out of the end of the mound. Before she went upstairs Moominmamma told Snufkin to check every now and then to see if Moomintroll is thawed out, and if he is then Snufkin needn’t worry about staying awake to keep the fire going when it is no longer needed. They said their good night’s and thank you’s and you’re welcome’s, then good night again, and Moominmamma was gone back to bed. True to his word, although he was very tired, Snufkin checked Moomintroll’s temperature every so often, and every so often put a few more logs on the fire. When finally Moomintroll was back at a normal temperature, and his ears twitched and he breathed the slow, steady breath of slumber, Snufkin stole one of his friend's blankets (he surely wouldn’t mind) and curled up asleep on the floor.

Snufkin woke up early (poor him, he didn’t get much sleep) to the sun flooding through the windows, despite not being long after the crack of dawn. 

“The sun!” Snufkin thought, and he rushed to the nearest window just to be sure.

“The sun is out!” He exclaimed softly, so as not to wake the Moomin’s, and did a quiet little dance on the tips of his toes in joy. Then he sprung over to beam at his friend-under-the-blanket-mound, “Moomintroll, wake up!” He said, “the sun is out this morning, isn’t it lovely? You really made The Groke go away!”

Moomintroll did not stir.

“Moomintroll,” repeated Snufkin, “wake up.”

Still Moomintroll would not wake, so Snufkin shook the bundle of blankets on the floor. Nothing came of it, not even an ear twitch. That left a bad feeling in Snufkin’s stomach, and he ran upstairs to wake Moominmamma and Moominpappa (mostly Moominmamma) so they could come down and sort it out. Luckily enough as Snufkin emerged at the top of the stairs Moominmamma emerged from her room.

“How is he?” She asked.

“He didn’t wake when I called or shook him,” Snufkin replied, and they both hurried downstairs where Moominmamma took Moomintroll’s temperature.

“He’s back at a normal temperature now,” said Mamma, “so that’s not the problem.”

“Do you know what is?” Asked Snufkin.

“I believe it may be a curse,” answered Mamma, “but I’m afraid curses are out of my field. We’ll have to take him back to the castle to get him looked at properly, and if it’s really bad we’ll go to Saint Mungo’s.”

“Is it really bad?” Snufkin worried.

“We’ll have to wait and see,” she said gravely, “I’ll go and wake Pappa, you stay here and watch to see if anything happens.”

“Alright Mamma,” said Snufkin.

With Pappa now to help her they cast a levitating charm on Moomintroll and marched him up to the castle, while Snufkin ran ahead to send an owl to the Head Nurse who was on holiday. On the way he bumped into Professor Hobgoblin, who he told to go and help the Moomin’s.

“What on earth do you mean?” Asked Professor Hobgoblin.

“There isn’t time for any questions,” explained Snufkin, “as you can see I am in quite the hurry.”

“Where are the Moomin’s then? I must know where they are if I am to help them,” said Professor Hobgoblin before Snufkin could hurry on his way.

“In the grounds coming towards the hospital wing,” said Snufkin, and then bolted down the hallway.

“The hospital wing!” Exclaimed Professor Hobgoblin, hastening in the direction Snufkin had come, “likely that Moomintroll again, but by the look on poor Snufkin’s face something far worse has happened than a potion gone wrong.”

_ Dear Head Nurse _ , wrote Snufkin,

_ I am very very sorry for sending this letter and interrupting your Christmas, and I wouldn’t send it if it weren’t urgent. _

_ Moomintroll has been frozen by The Groke. We thawed him out but now he wont wake up, and Moominmamma can’t figure out why. _

_ We fear that because he was frozen by The Groke he might be cursed. _

_ Please come back to aid him. _

_ Deepest apologies, _

_ Snufkin. _

“Now, you must be very quick,” said Snufkin to Moomintroll’s owl, who was a bright young barn owl and very fast flier, “Moomintroll is in big trouble, and this letter will get him help.”

The owl blinked in understanding and took off. It was lovely flying weather that morning, and Snufkin would call that lucky had he not known that it was really Moomintroll who had cleared the skies and calmed the winds. On top of all the worry, or was it below, Snufkin felt a bit of pride and affection in his best friend, because his actions were admirable, even if they did get him frozen and cursed. Merlin knows how long The Groke would have stayed had Moomintroll not gone and confronted her.

When Snufkin arrived at the hospital wing there was not only Professor Hobgoblin but The Witch and Professor Hemulen too, and they were all crowded around the hospital bed nearest the fireplace.

“Snufkin!” Exclaimed Moominpappa, giving him a fright, “did you manage to send that letter alright?”

“Yes sir, and I sent Moomintroll’s owl because I know she’s the fastest,” said Snufkin.

“Good lad,” said Moominpappa, “would have gone up there myself to send it but I’m afraid my back problems won't allow such strenuous things as running about.”

Professor Hemulen nodded in agreement, “oh, to be young again and to run about as you can, Snufkin. In your old age you find that all you can do is sit around and grumble about lost youth.”

“I’m sure it’s not all bad,” said Snufkin, “you can still go out for walks and such.”

“But it’s not the same as when you’re young,” lamented Professor Hemulen.

Snufkin moved closer to where his friend lay surrounded by concerned mutterings.

“Have you figured out if he’s cursed?” Asked Snufkin.

The Witch, who had scared Snufkin a little in his first year, answered him, “yes, we believe he’s cursed. A fairly nasty curse that won’t let us figure out how to lift it.”

“Oh dear!” Cried Snufkin.

“Don’t worry, Snufkin,” consoled Moominmamma, “we need only wait for the Head Nurse to receive his letter, then he will come right through the fireplace and figure it out.”

“Yes, there is no need to worry, it could be far worse than being stuck sleeping,” said Professor Hobgoblin.

“Then I hope he is having a nice dream,” said Snufkin.

They were all eating lunch by the time the Head Nurse arrived in the fireplace, and Moominmamma, who had stayed behind saying she wasn’t hungry, came bustling into the great hall announcing his arrival. Immediately everyone who was in the hospital wing beforehand (except The Witch, who said to send for her if her services as Potion Master were needed) sprang to their feet in excitement and rushed out of the hall, even old Hemulen and Moominpappa were quick on their feet. It was, to everyone’s great disappointment, requested that no one be in the hospital wing while the Head Nurse does his work lest he be distracted. He was probably a little peeved at being called back from holiday, so nobody argued. Snufkin went back to the great hall to finish his lunch but found he was no longer hungry, which was a pity, because he hadn’t had breakfast.

“You aren’t going to finish that, are you?” Asked Little My, taking the seat next to him.

“No,” said Snufkin, “you can have it.”

Little My dragged the plate over to her and started to eat.

“It’s lovely and sunny today, I might try out my new sled that the Snork gave me for Christmas,” she said, “say, where is Moomintroll? I’m sure he’d like to have a go.”

“Moomintroll has a cold,” said Snufkin, and even though that was half true Little My still sensed that something was amiss.

Little My crossed her arms, she had somehow already finished eating, and let out a burp, “you’re not telling me something. Don’t think that I haven’t noticed something odd is going on.”

Snufkin knew from experience that it wasn’t a good idea to hide things from Little My, so he told her the truth.

“Poor Moomintroll!” exclaimed Little My when Snufkin had finished his tale, “you know, we ought to go to the library and see if there’s anything on The Groke and curses that might help the Head Nurse.”

“Good thinking,” said Snufkin,

Little My grinned smugly at the praise, and they both hurried off to the library.

There wasn’t much on The Groke when they looked, and they found themselves searching for hours through countless books looking for even a mention of the name. Just as Little My declared that their efforts in the creatures and history aisles were useless, and that she was going to read up on curses, Professor Hobgoblin approached them.

“Snufkin, Little My,” he said.

The two looked up from their books.

“Hello Professor,” said Little My, “I’m sorry but we’re very busy right now, you should talk to us later.”

“I’m sure what you’re doing is very important, but it is urgent that you both come with me to the hospital wing,” Professor Hobgoblin said.

“Is Moomintroll alright?” Asked Snufkin.

“He’ll be alright,” confirmed the Professor, “the Head Nurse says that he’s figured out how to break the curse, and he needs you both to come and help him.”

Snorkmaiden and Sniff were already there when Snufkin and Little My entered the hospital wing with Professor Hobgoblin.

“There you are!” said the Head Nurse, “very good, very good. Is that all of them?”

“Yes, I believe so,” confirmed Moominmamma.

“Why are we here?” Asked Little My bluntly.

“I’m quite certain I’ve figured out how to break Moomintroll’s sleeping curse: an act of pure love, not familial as we have found. This is why I have summoned all of his closest friends to join me; I ask each of you to try and break the curse.”

Snorkmaiden looked delighted, “why, this is just like in the fairytales! I’ll go first and save you all the trouble.”

She was very serious about it, walked importantly over to Moomintroll’s bed and kissed his forehead.

“There,” she said, “now wake up darling Moomintroll.”

Moomintroll did not stir, so she kissed him again. He still would not wake, and such a wretched expression was on Snorkmaiden’s face when she retreated that everyone felt very sorry. She got many sympathetic looks, and Moominmamma pulled Snorkmaiden into her comforting arms.

“I suppose I should have a try,” said Sniff, making his way to Moomintroll’s side.

He shook Moomintroll lightly and whispered in his ear, “hey, Moomintroll, if I give you a golden galleon will you wake up?”

That attempt was also unsuccessful, but Sniff wasn’t all bothered; he didn’t really want to part with any of his money.

Little My went next. First she tried the same as Snorkmaiden, but then decided that yelling into Moomintroll’s ear was a better method. It, too, did not work, so she climbed up on Moomintroll’s belly and started jumping, but was quick to be pulled away. Little My wasn’t used to failure, and so she became grumpy.

“I don’t know if you have figured out how to break the curse, Mr Head Nurse,” said Little My spitefully.

“Snufkin hasn’t tried yet,” noted the Head Nurse, although he himself looked doubtful.

“But I don’t know what I would do,” said Snufkin when he felt the eyes of everyone on him.

“You’ll think of something,” assured Moominmamma.

Snufkin frowned and put his hands in his pockets, he didn’t like having everyone’s attention, and noticed that his harmonica was not where it usually was in his right pocket. Then he remembered that he had left it on his bedside table before going out last night to save it from getting damaged by the cold.

“Oh, I know!” Cried Snufkin, and ran as fast as his legs could carry him out of the hospital wing.

“Where do you think he’s gone off too,” wondered Sniff.

“I believe he’s had an idea,” said Moominpappa.

The Hufflepuff common room wasn’t very far, so Snufkin returned soon after he had left. Upon his return he waved his harmonica in the air, the metal gleaming in the afternoon sun that streamed through the great big windows.

“I’m not sure this will work,” said Snufkin, a little out of breath, “but it's worth a try.”

Then he sat down on the chair next to Moomintroll’s bed and started to play. It was Moomintroll’s favorite song, but this time as Snufkin played it was slower, and sounded more delicate and melancholic. When he finished there was a collective inhale of anticipation, but Moomintroll showed no signs of consciousness.

“Worth a try,” Snufkin shrugged, and made to get up off his seat.

“Snufkin, was that you I heard talking just now?” Said a small voice beside him.

“Moomintroll!” Snufkin exclaimed in disbelief, “you’re awake!”

“Yes I am,” confirmed Moomintroll, “and I would say good morning, except the light tells me that it is not that time of day, and my surroundings tell me that I am in the hospital wing, which is never a good thing.”

Snufkin gave a great shout of happiness, and played Moomintroll’s favorite song again with renewed vigour while everyone crowded around Moomintroll giving cries of relief and lots of hugs.

“So what happened?” Asked Moomintroll once he was free, “last I recall I was outside talking with The Groke.”

So they explained to him what had happened the night before, and Snufkin declared that if The Groke had still been there when he found Moomintroll he would have been really quite mad.

Moomintroll shook his head, “please don’t be mad Snufkin, when I was giving The Groke a present she accidentally touched my hand and that must have frozen me.”

“You gave her a present?” Asked Little My incredulously.

“Well, yes,” said Moomintroll, trying not to sound guilty about exactly what he had given her, “she was very sad and I thought it would cheer her up.”

“What did you give her then?” Snorkmaiden entreated.

“You didn’t say who broke the curse,” said Moomintroll in an attempt to change the subject.

“If I may,” Snufkin interjected, because he had been thinking about the curse, especially after Moomintroll had said that he felt very well rested, “it could be possible that there was no curse in the first place.”

“What do you mean?” The Head Nurse asked, embarrassed that he may have been wrong but intrigued all the same.

“Moomintroll hadn’t been sleeping very well because of that big storm,” explained Snufkin, “maybe he was just very tired. That could also be why nobody could truly figure out the curse, because there wasn’t one!”

“So you’re saying that Moomintroll just needed a big sleep?” asked Moominpappa.

“Exactly,” said Snufkin, and then added in kindness to the Head Nurse, “but that’s just my theory.”

Moominmamma checked the clock and realised that it was time for dinner.

“All worry is over now, and look, it’s supper time,” She said, “Moomintroll dear, would you like to have your supper brought to you?”

“That’s okay Mamma, I feel well enough,” said Moomintroll, getting out of bed and having a good stretch, “in fact, I feel positively brilliant! Better than I’ve felt in days!”

They had a very good dinner that night with all of Moomintroll’s favorite dishes to celebrate, and afterwards the tables were cleared and there was a lot of singing and dancing and music and laughter. At one point Little My took Snufkin’s new hat and danced with it over her eyes, which ended up in a crash and everyone jumbled up in a pile on the floor giggling. The next day Moomintroll woke from a perfect sleep, then he, Little My and Snorkmaiden went sledding while Sniff ate pancakes to his heart's content, and Snufkin learnt to play his flute.


End file.
